Dr Megan Klabunde

Biography

Dr Klabunde studies how our brain processes and perceives information from within our bodies. This focus on internal body sensations is what psychology and neuroscience call interoception. Dr Klabunde specifically examines how children and young people process internal body information and how their brain development changes these processes over time. Additionally, the factors that influence interoceptive development, such as environmental and genetic interactions are also studied. Dr Klabunde also looks at how genetics, one's sex, stress/trauma and relationships influence interoception. How we perceive information from our bodies also has profound effects on how we process our emotions, empathise, and connect with one another. It also significantly influences our mental and physical health. Technically, as a neuroscientist, clinical and health psychologist, Dr Klabunde uses advanced research methods such as multi-modal neuroimaging, psychophysiology and neurobehavioral assessments to focus on typical and atypical childhood neurodevelopment. Her work implements state of the art acquisition tools and analyses in order to study the developing structure and function of the brain. She primarily relies upon functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) for brain imaging acquisition. To analyse brain imaging data, she uses advanced procedures such as functional, physiological, effective and multivariate connectivity analyses, and machine learning tools. As a dually registered health psychologist and clinical psychologist by the HCPC and her prior post as an attending (consultant) psychologist at Stanford University, Dr Klabunde is an international expert in working with children and young people impacted by various psychiatric, neurogenetic and medical disorders that are associated with interoceptive deficits. She relies upon the deep knowledge gained by successfully treating with hundreds of children and young people to design research studies and translate the new knowledge gained from these studies to improve the sense of embodiment in children/young people and their relationships with one another.

Qualifications

• PhD Psychology Alliant International Unviersity, (2011)

• Post-Doctoral Research Scholar- Applied Developmental Neuroscience Stanford University School of Medicine, (2016)

• NIMH T32 Post-Doctoral Fellow Stanford University School of Medicine, (2012)

• Health Psychologist PYL37986 Health and Care Professions Council,

• Clinical Psychologist PYL37986 Health Care Professions Council,

Appointments

University of Essex

• Lecturer, University of Essex (3/1/2019 - present)

Other academic

• Lecturer, University of Essex (1/1/2019 - present)

• Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine (1/2/2018 - 31/12/2018)

• Instructor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine (1/4/2016 - 1/2/2018)

• NIMH T32 Post-Doctoral Scholar in Developmental Neuroscience, Stanford University School of Medicine (1/9/2012 - 31/3/2016)

• Paediatric (Child Health) Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellow, Stanford University School of Medicine (1/8/2011 - 31/8/2012)

• American Psychological Association Internship in Child and Adolescent Psychology, Children's Hospital Colorado (1/6/2010 - 1/6/2011)

• Child and Adolescent Psychology Internship, Rady Children's Hospital (1/8/2009 - 31/5/2010)

• Professional Research Associate, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego (1/8/2007 - 31/5/2010)